Last night there was a brief debate about having our merchandise spread across two online shops. We like Printfection because they provide T-shirts and other clothing in sizes up to 5X, which CafePress and other sites do not. However, Printfection does not offer other cool merchandise like wall clocks, hoodies and baseball caps. So the debate ended rather abruptly and we now have two online stores. For most of your clothing and other LHS promotional accessories, please visit the Printfection shop at https://www.printfection.com/lhs. If you're looking for wall clocks, hoodies or hats, check out the CafePress shop at https://www.cafepress.com/lhspodcast. Either way, your purchase will donate from $0.99 to $1.99 to the Linux in the Ham Shack hosting fees. Thank you for your support!
LHS Products Are Here
The Dayton Hamvention is coming up very soon and several of our listeners have asked if we're ever going to have custom hats and T-shirts and such made up since we now have a spiffy new logo. The answer to that question is simple: Yes! Thanks to Printfection, we now have an online shop where you can purchase accessories, drinkware and apparel items of your very own. We would really appreciate it if everyone who was a fan of the show would stop by and grab a shirt or a coffee mug from the shop. When you purchase items from the Linux in the Ham Shack store, you will be donating between $0.99 and $1.99 per item, depending on which ones you select, to our hosting fees. You get a fun new item to show off to all your family and friends, and we get a little bit of promotion in the process. It's win-win! Printfection currently does not offer headwear, but we're looking into alternatives for that. If you happen to be coming to Dayton or to the Southeast Linux Fest, make sure to get your LHS promo items before you show up. We'll be looking out for you, and there may even be a prize in it if we see you wearing one of our shirts or drinking out of one of our mugs or can coolers. You can find the store at https://www.printfection.com/lhs. Why not check it out today?
LHS Episode #038: XDX ‘n Stuff
The season of Linux fests is now under way. The Texas Linux Fest took place a couple of weeks ago. By all accounts, the turnout was excellent, the educational opportunities were plentiful and fun was had by all.
Oggcamp in the UK is next on the list. Then there will be ham fests and Linux fests all over the country and the rest of the world for the rest of the spring, summer and early fall. Linux in the Ham Shack will be represented at the Dayton Hamvention in May and at the Southeast Linux Fest in June. I'm also trying to start a new Linux fest called the Mid-America Linux Fest which will be held in early November. It's possible that could be November of 2010, but it's more likely to be November 2011. If you want more information about the Mid-America Linux Fest or are willing to volunteer your time or services, please check out the Web site at https://midamericalinuxfest.org.
And yes, I know this episode of Linux in the Ham Shack is late. Life has been very busy of late and I think all of our listeners for your eternal patience. We hope to see you at the live recording of Episode #037 on April 27th at 8:00pm.
73
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LHS Episode #037: Riders on the Storm
There are good things coming up in the world of GNOME and Linux in the Ham Shack has some of the scoop. In this episode we had the good fortune to interview Stormy Peters, the executive director over at the GNOME Foundation. We'd love to tell you all the stuff she told us, but that's what downloading the episode is all about. We wouldn't want to spoil any surprises.
We are currently in migration from Hostican to our new hosting, which includes a mix of BlueCows Technical Services and GoDaddy. During this process, some of the Web site features may come and go, but rest assured everything will be back online eventually. I believe most everything is working now except for the OGG feed and I am working on that. It is very important that everyone switch over to the new RSS feeds in your podcatcher of choice. We wouldn't want you to miss a single episode. Click or hover over the RSS Feed links on the left-hand side of the main Web page for the correct new URLs. And remember, our new e-mail address is info at lhspodcast dot info. That will go to both of us.
Don't forget about the current contests. Don't forget to show up at the Texas Linux Fest in April, the Southeast Linux Fest in June and the Ohio Linux Fest in September. Don't forget to tell 200 of your closest friends about the podcast. Don't forget to donate to the noise gate fund. And don't forget to have fun listening to the show!
73,
The LHS Guys
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IT Safety Inspection
To: Manager - Health, Safety, Environmental
From: Bill, Manager - IT
Date: April 1, 2010
Subject: IT Safety Inspection
It's been another harrowing month in the Information Technology department. Fortunately, no lives were lost in March due to unsafe practices, so we've got that going for us.
There was a loose network cable, which caused a number of lost packets. If the packets are primarily zeros, there is little danger as they tend to roll into the corners. The ones, however, have a tendency to fall pointy side up, which can be quite painful. I was able to clean them up with an Ethernet. I did consider blocking the area with a firewall, but a wall of fire in the workplace just didn't seem very safe.
There was a concern about the Conficker virus, so I wiped down all the servers with hand sanitizer. This seems to have been effective, as no new virus infections have been reported. It does make the servers a bit slippery, though. That could be an issue for next month's inspection.
No server crashes were reported in March, though we kept our hard hats on, just in case. I'll need to order new steel-toed boots, as the rack-mounted servers are harder to boot than servers sitting on the floor. I've cautioned everyone in IT to stretch before attempting to boot the servers that are higher in the rack, as we don't want anyone to pull a hammy.
There were a couple of instances of CD-image burns, which were treated with ice. No blistering was evident, but the CD drives did spark a bit as the ice melted.
It was suggested that alarms be installed on the servers to indicate when they are backing up. We wouldn't want anyone hurt and the alarms should provide sufficient notice to get out of the way. Flashing lights are already in place.
Respectfully submitted,
-Bill
Manager, Information Technology